Swimming appliance.



0. JENSEN. swmmmG APPLIANCE.

(Application filed May 25, 1901.)

No. 689,840. Patented Doc. 24, 190i.

(No Model.)

a Li Z 5||wm1toz Da M ZW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

OTTO JENSEN, OF BOSTON,'MASSACHUSETTS.

SWIMMING APPLIANCE.

SIIPEGIFIGATION' forming partof Letters Patent No. 689,840, dated December 24, 1901.

Application filed May 25, 1901.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OTTO JENSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swimming Appliances; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to swimming appliances; and its object is to provide a glove which may be fitted to the hand of the swimmer to enable him to more easily and rapidly propel himself and to provide a novel construction by means of which the resistance offered by the water will be distributed to all the muscles of the hand and'wrist.

My invention consists of a glove adapted to fit the hand and made from a single piece of material sewed to an extended web having stays which extend from the wrist of the glove, where they are permanently secured, and pass over the palm and each finger and diverge into a wide extension.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of my invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawin'gs,in which Figure 1 is a view of one side of the appliance appliedto the right hand of the swimmer and showing the web distended. Fig. 2 is a view of the other side of the glove, showing the position of the stays in relation to the fingers of the hand. Fig. 3 is a viewtaken longitudinally through one of the fingeropenings of the glove.

In the drawings, A designates a web made of any suitable flexible material-such as rubber,leather,oil fabric, and the likeprovided with diverging stays B, held in the stay-pockets a, and which meet at the wrist portion or smaller end of the web and diverge outwardly, giving strength and rigidity to the Web. The stay-pockets a are formed by sewing a strip of tape 1) on the back of the web from the outer end to the ends of the fingers and. thumb. The stay-pockets are continued on the front of the web by a strip oftape sewed Serial No. 61,955. (No model.)

from the ends of the fingers to the wrist portion. The stays pass through the web portion at the ends of the fingers from the pocket on the back to the pocket on the front. To the back of the inner end of the web is sewed a glove 0, made from a single piece of material and provided with the finger and thumb openings, each finger and thumb opening being directly over each stay, and the line of stitching which secures the finger and thumb Openings to the web is upon opposite sides of the stays. By this construction when the hand is inserted within the glove the stays areupon the palm side of the hand and are easily controlled to contract or distend the web. Besides, the resistance offered by the water is not upon the fingers alone, but dis tributed throughout the entire hand, as the stays extend to the wrist. Thus the fingers are not liable to be bent backwardly in an unnatural position,subjecting them to a cramped and painful position. By providing the staypockets upon the back of the web portion the front of the web presents a smooth and unbroken surface beyond the fingers, and as the stays pass through the web into the pockets on the palm side of the web the fingers are not in contact with the stays. The glove is stitched by a single row of stitches along its outer edge to the web portion,which web portion forms the palm portion of the glove. The wrist is suitably reinforced to add strengthand provided with a suitable fastening device, such as a hook and eye. By this construction it will be seen that the glove is easily put on or taken off and that the operator is enabled to easily distend or contract the web, since the stays pass beneath each finger and the thumb, and that whenthe glove is tightly fastened upon the wrist the strain is distributed along the entire hand and wrist and does not tend to cramp the fingers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a swimming appliance, a web formed of a single piece of material provided with stayssecured at the wrist portion and diverging outwardly, a glove made from a single piece of material and sewed to the back of the web portion over the stays, the web forming the palm of the glove, and a suitable fastening means at the wrist.

with stay-pockets, stays inserted within the stay-pockets, a glove made of a single piece of material sewed to the web and provided with thumb and finger openings, the stitches extending entirely around the glove and around opposite sides of the stays, whereby the finger and thumb openings are opposite each stay, substantially as described.

t. In a swimming appliance, a web formed of a single piece of material and provided with stay-pockets, a portion of its length upon its outer side, stay-pockets secured to the inner side the remaining portion of its length, and stays fitted within the pockets and passing through the Web portion at the juncture of the pockets, combined with a glove made of a single piece of material and provided with thumb and finger openings which are sewed to the web upon opposite sides of the stays, whereby a stay is provided for each finger and for the thumb, substantially as described. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OTTO JENSEN. Vitnesses:

GEORGE V. C. BACON, RICHARD WooDs. 

